[IAmTheWaterbug]

I'm having 100 people in my backyard next Sunday. The hive is not very near where the people will be, but it's also not terribly far.

Is there a good way to temporarily keep the bees inside the hive for the day? Can I cover the entrance with 1/8" hardware cloth the night before? Should I put a couple of pennies under the top board (non-telescoping, no inner cover) for extra ventilation if the forecast is hot?

Is there a standard way to do this sort of thing?

It's only for a day.

Thanks!

 

[Bees In Miami]

Do the bees trouble you on a daily basis where you are having the party? There is nothing that pisses bees off worse than changing their daily routine... I think you are asking for more problems closing them off, than you would possibly encounter letting them go about their business...JMO!

Keep everyone away from the flight path, and I would expect a non-event...

Put some traffic cones out as a 'do not cross'...and don't give "come see my bee hives" tours, and I bet it's not even the beginning of an issue. What kind of distance are you talking? 20 feet? 20 yards? 100 yards? Again, how often do you encounter a bee in the area you are hosting in?

My husband and I host several large parties a year...The bees have never been an issue, and I have several hives, not one.

 

[Oldtimer]

If you do block them in they overheat easy, more easy than most people realise till after their first experience.

Don't know how big the hive is, but just ventilation bottom can be not enough, because the bees clog it trying to get out & the hive suffocates. Ventilation should be installed by mesh across the entire bottom, and the entire top, and the hive moved to the shade, or have shade put over it.

The bees will not chill. Heat is the issue.

 

[HIVE+]

Week ago, birthday party for 3 year old granddaughter, a dozen kids plus parents 20' from 2 hives. People didn't even notice the hives were there. A good opportunity to educate at the end by pointing out bees aren't interested in stinging people for no reason. Maybe limit syrupy drinks.

 

[sqkcrk]

Maybe you should inform everyone of the hives presence and location.

I don't know how well it works, but I have heard of people using a lawn sprinkler to constantly spray the entrance of the hive w/ water, simulating rain I guess.

 

[Acebird]

Maybe you should inform everyone of the hives presence and location.

I would. And I would tell everyone that soda is what they are after. Do not drink from a pop top can. Pour the drink into one of those sealed cups used for coffee. Rinsing cans and putting them in a covered garbage pail will help. Supplying a water source near the hive will not hurt.

 

[Barry]

What?! Since when are honeybees interested in soda? That would be a great way to spread misinformation. Make everyone believe that bees and hornets are all one in the same.

 

[sqkcrk]

Better said than what I was thinking. Thank you, Barry. Most people don't know the difference, don't see the difference, and don't care that there is a difference. Even some beekeepers it seems.

 

[Duncan151]

What?! Since when are honeybees interested in soda? That would a great way to spread misinformation. Make everyone believe that bees and hornets are all one in the same.

Barry, I have had a much different experience with honeybees and pop. Last year I was having a shell of a house built, and I could not keep the guys on the construction crew from leaving half empty Mountain Dew cans laying around. Every afternoon I would dump out and throw away pop cans covered in honey bees after shaking most of them off. One afternoon I had stopped at McDonalds and had a Sprite from there with a straw and the lid on, in my truck. When I went to go home I checked it for bees, did not see any, took a drink and found two honey bees had climbed down the straw to get to the pop. I have never spit something out so fast! LOL For the record, I did not get stung.

 

[Michael Bush]

The "screen doors" that are sold by Brushy Mt. (and maybe some others) will let some of the bees out front to cool things. A sprinkler will help keep them in by making them think it's raining...

 

[HIVE+]

In defense, seems I remember the trash cans next to my high school, mostly yellow jackets, but a few bees; altho it was a long time ago.
Is the OP experiencing a dearth in forage?

 

[Jackam]

What?! Since when are honeybees interested in soda? That would a great way to spread misinformation. Make everyone believe that bees and hornets are all one in the same.

They're not interested in the soda. They don't care what flavor it is, if it's flat, or even if it's old.
They want the sugar!

The honeybees will absolutely go in the cans, especially in a dearth.

No misinformation in that post.

 

[sqkcrk]

HIVE+, it's the yellow jackets that do the stinging when it comes to soda pop foraging, not honeybees.

 

[Jackam]

Better said than what I was thinking. Thank you, Barry. Most people don't know the difference, don't see the difference, and don't care that there is a difference. Even some beekeepers it seems.

Evidently all beekeepers have different experiences.
I've never seen a laying worker, but I'm not going to make a blanket statement that anyone that says they have is uneducated.

I have seen honeybees spend days in a garbage can dedicated and full of empty Coke cans. They absolutely have zero interest in a can that once held diet soda though.

 

[kingd]

Had a graduation party a month ago, 100 plus people and the 6 hives 20 yards away and no one noticed any bees,most did not know I have bees.

Of course every situation is different. We had pop,lots of fruit,ice cream,candy and no bees.

 

[shinbone]

Without knowing how far away the hives will be and how defensive your bees are, it is impossible to offer a suggestion.

Unless it is a party for beekeepers, within a crowd of 100 people odds are there is at least one person who is afraid of bees and will raise a stink if they see a hive nearby.

 

[beedeetee]

A few years ago I bought a single hive net. It is nice soft material and is large enough to easily cover a hive with lots of room to spare. I used it to carry hives in my SUV but a few days ago I started a robbing issue and so I covered a single hive and a nuc (they were next to each other) with it for a day. The temps were in the 90's and lot of bees came out of the hives to cover the tops and sides but the robbing stopped and the hives were fine.

It is probably to late for this now, but that netting is pretty useful.

 

[IAmTheWaterbug]

The "screen doors" that are sold by Brushy Mt. (and maybe some others) will let some of the bees out front to cool things. A sprinkler will help keep them in by making them think it's raining...

Hmmm. This looks very interesting. I'll have to see if it's possible to get one in time:

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Florida-Moving-Screen/productinfo/516/

 

[Michael Bush]

>I'll have to see if it's possible to get one in time:

It's not complicated... make one.

 

[IAmTheWaterbug]

Without knowing how far away the hives will be and how defensive your bees are, it is impossible to offer a suggestion.

Unless it is a party for beekeepers, within a crowd of 100 people odds are there is at least one person who is afraid of bees and will raise a stink if they see a hive nearby.

Here's my backyard, in glorious iPhone 3D view:

The vertical scale is exaggerated, but it's a decent representation. Just above the Bees is a steep slope (dark green) planted heavily with morning glory, and then there's a 3' high wood fence that's shown as the thin wavy line. The thicker white line leading away from People is a brick path.

The tables and grill will up on the upper level where it says "People." The guests will walk down the steps and path into the garden to pick the corn. The hive is about 35' from the steps, and I'll have some signs and/or potted plants as a barrier to keep people from visiting the hive.

The hive is about 40+', as the bee flies , to the tables, but it's also 15' below that level, and the hive entrance faces the garden, so most of the bee flow is towards the garden. I always have bees buzzing around in the garden, but that would be true whether the hive was mine or not, or in my yard or not. Bees just like squash flowers, and most of the garden is a pumpkin patch right now (I'm going to have the same situation in late October ).

Regarding my bees, they're about medium tempered. I often get stung once or twice when I work the hive, usually through my $35 gloves , or during the 10 minutes afterward if I take off my suit without checking first. I often have 2-3 bees follow me away from the hive after I close it up, but I never have a cloud of them.

I almost never get stung if I'm in the garden or backyard and it's not within 10 minutes of me working the hive.

My newbee guess is that I won't actually have a problem, but then again perception counts for something, and I don't want my guests freaked out by my bees, especially since there will be lots of children involved.

Yes, we're in a pretty severe dearth right now. I just put a couple quarts of syrup in the hive this morning; we'll see how much they drink over the next day or two.